Visitors to the site will be able to see a world map where Santa's journey is tracked by scanning radar. Clicking on various locations on the map will start up movies showing Santa flying over famous landmarks. In order to see this great display, you will need RealPlayer 8 Basic (free). It can be downloaded at the site.
There are several feature articles about Santa, such as what does he eat for snacks, how does he get down the chimney, how does he know who's naughty or nice. Visitors can email Santa to ask a question and or a toll-free telephone hotline to NORAD to ask questions. There's a page where you can click on a link to hear Christmas music performed by the military bands of Canada and the United States.
The tradition of NORAD putting on this Christmas special started in 1955 when their phone number was erroneously printed in the newspaper as the Santa hotline. The staff at NORAD continued to answer phones every Christmas thereafter and then expanded to the Internet a few years ago. Last year, the site had over 100 million hits and the numbers keep growing. Now that this site is available in 10 different languages, the popularity is worldwide.
The Tracking Santa site is very entertaining for the kids and can certainly add to the excitement of Santa's arrival. You can go back to the site many times, just to get an update on Santa's progress.
I have already bookmarked this site and I plan to make periodic visits on December 24th. I hope you take your children there too!
Best wishes for a Happy Holiday
- This brilliant concept is a combined effort of:
- North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), the joint American and Canadian military organization responsible for the aerospace defense of the United States and Canada
- Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI), producer of Satellite Tool Kit® (STK)
- AOL, provider of interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies, and e-commerce services
- Globelink International Services, a Colorado-based company providing translations in over 10 languages
- Etheriel Web Publications, a web design and advertising company in Colorado
- Jupiter Media Metrix, a market intelligence company
Many thanks to these people who have made our Christmas a little more merrier, especially to the staff and families at NORAD in Colorado who donate their time to answering the phones and email.
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